Meeting Trouble
by squirrelydixon
Summary: Daryl Dixon had never taken an interest in any other woman before. Sentiment was a nonexistent word in his vocabulary. So when a stranger shows up at the Prison and claims that she could help them get away from the Governor, he got the job to make sure the group could trust her.
1. Chapter 1

At sunrise the army and the members of the CDS were waiting for the one who gathered them in the meeting hall, to speak up. Everyone had a job, and then needed to get back to it as soon as possible or else they would be wasting precious time. Time was the most important thing they had, and so it couldn't be wasted on something that has no meaning, no purpose.

The soldiers could not understand why they were called to that particular meeting, where only the doctors and scientists belonged. Their only job was to keep the remaining population safe, to make sure the generators worked and to make runs in larger cities for certain things. The members of the CDC were the smartest and the most valuable people the small city of survivals had. After the world went to hell, every doctor from big cities was brought to Newberg, and they formed a small army of doctors who became the most valuable people they had; they formed the new CDC. But they were the exact opposite of the soldiers. Harmless but too kind, very intelligent but untrained.

Newberg was the only city populated by humans, not Walkers. The city was standing where Mathews County stood once. When the madness begun and people came back from the dead, the wealthy part of the population got sent to Newberg. The members of the government, musicians, actors, doctors and everyone else who paid one million dollars for a place there. The disease was discovered by the CDC six months before the plague took over the America. Mathews Country got demolished and in its place four large buildings got built, each of them having the capacity to give shelter to thousands of men, children and women. Another building was dedicated to the doctors who never stopped looking for a cure.

When rich people found out that The End of The Days was coming, they paid large amounts of money for their space in Newberg. They paid for themselves and for their families and because of that, every building had special equipment, weapons and luxury. No one here could say they were in the middle of the Apocalypse. Every Walker who crossed the paths of the city got killed immediately; there was no reason for anyone but the military to worry.

The small army of doctors couldn't understand the purpose of the gathering either. They needed to be in the laboratories working to find a cure, not in a hall where everyone was confused. As the crowd was getting louder and louder, a man wearing a white lab coat stepped in front the people and he was soon joined by a taller and more muscular man, wearing a military uniform. The solider clapped third times to get everyone's attention, and then turned to the Doctor.

"Right." the doctor said, clearly intimidated by so many pair of eyes. He coughed one and continued. "I'm Doctor Hawks but you probably know me already. This is Sergeant Addams. I know all of you are wondering why I organized this meeting, and made you abandon your work." There were nods of approval and some murmurs in the back, and Addams continued.

"We are sorry for that. You will get back to work right after the meeting is over." he addressed to everyone, but mostly to the other soldiers. The silence allowed one of the two men to explain everything, so Doctor Hawks coughed again and spoke loudly:

"We managed to connect with someone who has been testing the Infected for a while now, and he believes he found something that might help us find a cure." After his words were heard, the entire crowd started asking questions but the noise was too loud and no one could understand each other. Whistles made everyone calm down and turn their attention back to the men who were standing in the front.

"Thank you, Sergeant." the doctor gave the other man a nod and then turned back to the agitated crowd. "In order to do that, we need him and we need every note he ever made in this period of testing the Infected."

"That's when the army is needed. We must travel to Georgia, find this guy and bring him back here." the Sergeant spoke in a deep voice.

"We will need a group of people, whiling to risk their lives to bring this guy to us." everyone shared scared looks, neither of them wanting to leave the city and risk their life on the road. "Does anyone want to go on that mission? We will need two members of the CDC and five soldiers."

No doctor moved. The soldiers didn't move either. Even if they had special training, knew how to use weapons, how to fight and how to survive, they would rather do all that from the city because that was safe. And people needed safety these days.

For a couple of minutes, no one said anything. Then, a solider took a step forward and saluted the Sergeant. Two more soldiers followed him, mirroring his moved, then walked behind the two leaders. The Doctor was the leader of everyone working for the CDC and the Sergeant lead the army.

Somewhere in the back, a woman began to walk towards the front of the hall apologizing to anyone she pushed by mistake. She wanted to leave Newberg and see how the less fortunate coped with the plague. She hated the idea of the one million rule; she hated it since she found out how every person there got in. The woman got in based on her job at the CDC, not because she paid an exaggerate amount of money. In her eyes, these people were wrong and cruel because they had thrown a chance to survive in front of the most important people of America, and took the chance from every other decent, normal person.

"I'm going with them." she finally reached the front, and everyone turned their attention to her. She was wearing a white lab coat, similar to the doctor's, but shorter. The soldiers who volunteered to join the mission were smirking and looking at her with amusement. There was no way a woman would join them on a dangerous job.

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked her.

"One hundred percent sure. I'm going to Georgia." she said with determination written all over her face. There was no way she wouldn't take an opportunity to leave Newberg and try to help some survivals. Some real survivals.

"Alright then." the leader of the smarter half said and gave her a sign, telling her to join the soldiers. She ignored their looks and focused on what was going on. Two more soldiers volunteered and joined the small group: one of them had curly hair and blue eyes that didn't pass unnoticed by the woman. The other one was one of her friends; he walked towards her and she could swear he was going to grab her by the hand and push her back into the crowd, but he didn't. Instead, he stood next to her and looked straight ahead.

"No one else is joining them? We need one more scientist and the rest of you will be dismissed." The Sergeant said. There was a loud sigh, followed by giggles, and then a handsome man walked towards the group and saluted the two leaders. He had blond hair and defined cheekbones, green eyes and a smile that could bring out the sun even in the darkest times.

"Alright then, the five of you follow me to my office. The rest of you, go back to your daily work." the Doctor said and then began walking towards an elevator, with the five people following him close behind. The handsome doctor led the way and the other volunteers stayed behind. The elevator doors closed after everyone got inside, and the youngest soldier counted every level as they kept going up.

Five minutes later, Doctor Hawks was sat at a large desk and the five adults were standing in front of him. "I'm glad you are whiling to help me with this job." He said. Three men nodded and the woman continued looking out the window to the apocalyptic city. The grey buildings, the lack of vegetation, the dirt and the talks that stood at every entrance in Newberg, the tall walls that isolated the city from the rest of the America. "I haven't got the chance to find out your names, so please introduce yourselves." Doctor Hawks added.

The curly man straightened his posture and responded in a formal way "My name is Andrew Rothrock and I'm thirty three years old" Hawks nodded and then turned his attention to the next in line: "The name is Charlie Davis and I am thirty five. Also, I'm honored to help you on this mission, Sir." He saluted and Hawks smiled and gave him a firm nod. The next one in line was the handsome doctor. "My name is Cody Palmer, I'm from New York and I am thirty nine." He smiled and leaned over the table to shake Hawks's hand. His action got a few ever rolls, but Cody didn't seemed to be bothered by that. The last soldier's voice managed to interrupt Cody's ass-kisser move "My name is Nathan Wilson and I am thirty one years old." He said shortly and gave the Doctor a nod, which he returned quickly. The last person to introduce herself was the only woman who volunteered to risk her life just for research, as everyone thought. "My name is Blair Fields and I am twenty nine." She said and gave Doctor Hawks a firm nod.

"Alright then, you will be leaving tomorrow as soon as the daylight hits. Blair, Cody you two stay here because I must discuss the details of the mission with you; the rest of you, Sergeant Addams is waiting in the training hall." He dismissed the three soldiers and they left the room. "As you know, a man began to test some Infected a while ago, and he kept me updated via the only remaining computers they have back there. He believes he found something and I need you two to see if his research is alright, real and possible. Can you do that?"

"Of course we can, we will do our best and we will keep you updated, Sir." Cody spoke before Blair even got the chance to nod her head. "But, Sir, are you sure Blair is a good option?" Cody added and the woman felt her blood boil.

"Why wouldn't it be a good idea? Because I'm a female?" she snapped.

"No, but maybe what's out there isn't safe for you."

"Newsflash! No one is safe out here!"

"I believe she will be just fine, Mister Palmer. Plus, she is great at her job; you will need her once you're in Woodbury." Doctor Hawks spoke before the small argument got the chance to grow into something bigger.

"Woodbury?" Blair turned her attention to the man.

"Yes. It's a small town, ruled by a man named Philip. He managed to keep a group of people safe for over a year so that is a huge achievement. I want you to see how the town is like; how the people are feeling and how safe it is there, alright? Can you do that too?"

Both of them gave Hawks an affirmative response and the man gave them specific information about how the man's rapports should be, and told them to ask him to demonstrate one of his experiments. They also learnt that the man's name was Milton Mamet and he was aware that a group was coming from Newberg. By the time the two were dismissed, it was already noon.

They went in separate directions, both of them heading to their bedrooms to pack clothes for the journey they had to face in a less than twenty four hours. Blair packed more clothes than she needed, thinking about the women she might encounter on their way to Woodbury and about how much they would appreciate a set of clean clothes. Cody on the other hand, packed only what he really needed, not more. Three clean shirts and pants, a hat and a jacket, two pair of shoes and something more comfortable so he could sleep in them. He was relaxed, even eager to meet new people and maybe, who knew, even create a bonding with the younger woman accompanying them.

Blair left the medical building as soon as she finished packing, jogging to the building made for the army. She flashed her ID to the guard and he moved out of her way after a friendly greet. "Is Nath inside?"She asked the older man, and he chuckled, familiar with her daily question "He is in there, packing I believe." He responded. "Thank you, Dan." She waved and jogged up the stairs, all the way to the dorms. The building was smaller than the other five, but in her eyes it was the best. The walls were painted in a light shade of grey, there were no elevators, no gigantic windows that made her think of some big mansion that belonged to the Kardashians, the majority of people there were nice and friendly, and she could get in and train whenever she wanted. Training was her way to forget about the responsibility she had, the pressure to find a cure. No one seemed to be aware that it didn't matter how much everyone tried, there was no way to find a cure for the plague.

She knocked twice on the metal framed door and stepped back. A couple of seconds later, the door was opened by Nathan, her best friend. "Hey, stranger." She winked and walked in. The sight of Nathan's army uniform, civil clothes and some pair of shoes thrown around the room hit her immediately, and she thought of the battlegrounds she used to see in movies.

"Sorry, I'm trying to figure out what should I pack." He murmured.

"We're going on a mission, we will encounter walkers and things will get messy, we're not going to the prom. Pack something comfortable which allows you to actually move." Blair turned to face Nathan. He was wearing a pair of glasses, something he wore during his free time because he needed to correct his sight. His hair was messy and he was wearing a pair of jogging pants and a plain grey t-shirt.

"You're right." He said and picked up a few t-shirts, two pairs of pants and a pair of shoes. "Wow, you're modest." Blair laughed. "What? I can't take my entire wardrobe now, can't I?"

The woman laughed and grabbed Nathan's army uniform, to fold it.

"Why did you volunteer?" The man asked after minutes of silence.

"I just want to see how it's outside, you know that." She shrugged.

"You can die out there, you know that!"

"I am not going to die. I can fell that you'll protect me all the time, prince charming." Blair rolled her eyes and continued to put her friend's clothes back where they belonged.

"You can still tell Doctor Hawks you changed your mind and that you're not going." Nathan suggested.

"I'm not going to do that, Nathan! I'm going with you, end of discussion. "

Nathan didn't know how to convince the woman to stay at home because he never had to worry about her safety before this day. His best friend was always in the laboratories, working. When her free days finally came around, she usually sat on the top of the CDC building, reading or just sleeping. Sometimes she trained with him and persuaded anyone to teach her use a weapon; Blair was nothing like the rest of the women and Nathan liked that a lot. She also earned the respect of his fellow soldiers just because of her tough personality and her ability to fight and take down walkers.

"Fine." He sighed loudly and Blair kissed his cheek. "I will be alright, I promise." But the soldier couldn't believe it because no one could be sure about their fate once they were out there. Even if Blair had training, she was not safe. "I'll go to sleep now, Nath. See you in the morning." Blair said, hugged him and walked out of his room. He went to bed not long after that, trying not to think about where they were going in less than ten hours.


	2. Chapter 2

It was still dark outside when everyone met in Dr. Hawks' office to get specific orders and to ask what vehicles they could take, what route they should follow and where Woodbury was located exactly.

"I have marked the route you must follow on this map." Sergeant Addams handed the map to Charlie and continued "I have decided that a route that doesn't go through Atlanta would be better, because the city is overrun for sure. We have packed gasoline for the cars and you should be fine. If you don't run in any trouble you will arrive to the destination in…let's say fourteen hours or so. Any questions?" everyone understood the plan so Dr. Hawks told the soldiers to load everything in the cars and wait for Blair and Cody.

"I have to get you into the details of this mission." Nathan heard Dr. Hawks say before the door closed and he walked towards the cars that have been assigned to them. He grabbed three bags which had clothes in them and then two bags that contained medical supplies.

"Hey, Nathan!" the man turned around and saw his friend Andrew jogging towards him with a bag in his right hand. "Hm?" Nathan mumbled as he turned around to finish loading the car.

"Can you put those in your car?" Andrew said and lifted the bag he was holding, then another one behind his car.

"What? You don't have space in yours? Cody packed too many things, didn't he?" Nathan laughed and grabbed the bag from his friend. When Andrew came back with the other one, he laughed. "Actually, those are Cody's bags." He responded and jogged towards his car.

"Are you joking? Take them back; I'm not sharing a ride with him!"

"Man, if he rides in the same car as me I might come back here and be convicted for murder. I hate the guy's guts." Andrew said. Nathan didn't like Cody either. He just wasn't a good companion; or human being for that matter. He was a snob, a coward and many other things. Girls only hung out with him because of his looks and job, not stunning personality.

"Fine, but you owe me big time." Nathan shouted and threw Cody's other bag in the car. "Thank you!" Andrew and Charlie shouted at the same time and then laughed.

Because Nathan finished loading his car, he went to his fellow soldiers to help. "Remind me again, why do we have to take those doctors or whatever with us? We're better on our own; now we have to babysit those two." Charlie complained. "Hey, I have nothing against Blair but, Jesus Christ." He added.

"The woman can take care of herself. The idiot on another hand is a different story. I don't think he had seen an Infected before." Andrew laughed. "We're done here, now we must wait." Nathan changed the subject, not really want to talk about Blair with the men.

Ten minutes later, Blair stormed out of the CDC building and straight to the grey car that Nathan was driving. She got in the front seat of the car and slammed the door shut. "Want to talk about it?" Nathan spoke. "That idiot almost convinced Hawks to make us follow the longer route! The one that goes through Atlanta!" she shouted. "Why the fuck would he want that?" Nathan asked. "Because he wants to see what happened to the CDC base and it's such a bad idea! The city is overrun we wouldn't last a day!"

"Hey, calm down. As long as I'm driving and leading the way, nobody's going to Atlanta." The man tried to calm down Blair who looked ready to throw someone to the Infected. She nodded and took in a deep breath. "Alright then, are we ready to go?" she clapped her hands and smiled. "Actually…there's something I need to tell you before we leave." Nathan scratched the back of his neck. Before Blair got the chance to ask what was wrong, someone knocked on the glass and made the woman jump in surprise. At the window stood Cody with a cheeky smile on his face. "What the fuck do you want?" Blair shouted while glaring at the man.

"To ride in the front seat." He simply responded.

The woman turned her head and looked at the man on her left who was trying not to laugh, with her eyes wide open. "He has to ride with us." She mumbled an "I can't believe you." and opened the car's door, hitting Cody in the process.

"Are you mad?" the man asked after he made himself comfortable on the front seat. He believed the woman was exaggerating and that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"No. I'm furious." She responded and leaned back in the backseat. She wanted to be in the front, not in the back like a ten year old that was going on a trip with her parents. What was next? Singing songs and braiding each other's hair?

"I haven't done anything wrong." Cody responded as he watched two soldiers opening the front gates to let them drive out. Nathan started the engine and saluted his Sergeant, then they were out of Newberg, with the other car following close behind.

"You wanted to go through Atlanta! You want to get us killed and you're retarded." The young woman snapped. "Come on, it's a good idea! We can see how everyone who stayed behind at the CDC is doing and we can check up on our families." When his response was heard by Nathan he couldn't help but burst out laughing. Blair's face just remained blank. "Are you seriously retarded?" She asked, which made Nathan crack up more. "No, I'm not! You should watch your mouth when you're around me, just saying, girly."

"Alright. First of all, fuck you; second of all, where do you think we live? Sunshine Valley? Atlanta is full of those fuckers we're trying to get rid of! Our families are probably dead and the CDC is probably empty by now! You're delusional. Third of all, fuck you."

"Wow, she swears a lot for a woman." Cody whistled and Blair could feel her blood boiling. "Mate, shut the fuck up. No one's going to Atlanta and stop thinking the world is such a nice place. The world that we know is gone and you have to realize that." Nathan spoke up, for the first time since they left Newberg, and Blair was grateful that he made Cody shut up.

Five hours later, the group crossed two bridges that had been built before the outbreak started; two bridges that helped everyone get to Newberg faster. They had enough fuel and they haven't encountered many Infected. They could handle two or three while they stopped for a couple of minutes to solve their biological calls, but that was all. They stopped near to an empty gas-station so they could look for something to keep them busy during the drive, like magazines and old news papers.

"What are you looking for, exactly?" Charlie asked the woman who walked behind him inside the gas station.

"I told you, something that could keep me busy and unaware of Cody's presence. "She shrugged and Charlie laughed. "Look, chips!" she half shouted and jogged towards the food section.

"They're probably expired, ya' know." Charlie responded while looking at the untouched chocolate. "I'm craving for some chips and for some chocolate so I'm taking some." Blair said as she tossed six bars of chocolate and six packs of chips in her basket. "It's funny." Charlie chuckled and he grabbed some old news papers. "What's funny?"

"This. We're here, in an empty gas station; you're holding a shopping basket with chips and gossip magazines in it and I'm wondering if I should get a bottle of water or some beer that's probably out of date." He laughed.

"Yeah, but it's nice." In that moment they heard a growl from behind the counters. Charlie tensed up and tightened the grip on the hammer he had in hand. As he got closer, he heard Blair gasp from behind him. He turned around and noticed at least a dozen Infected circling the gas station and five coming from different rooms. In front of him stood three hungry monsters and he backed away, outnumbered. His back hit someone else's and soon he realized that was Blair.

The monsters were coming closer and their snapping jaws made Charlie's heart beat faster. Without hesitation, he hit one of the Infected in the head, then another as the first one crumbled down, then another and another. "Come on!" Blair shouted as she hit an Infected with her baseball bat and he fell down next to the others. Charlie followed her outside where they noticed the others shooting down Infected and clearing their way. Half way to the cars, Blair screamed and fell down. Charlie was way ahead and he couldn't see her anymore; the Infected were circling her and all they could hear were her desperate screams.

She watched terrified as the Infected were ready to rip her open and eat her alive. One of them grabbed her foot while she was running and that caused her to fall down amongst the sea of monsters. An Infected was biting her boot, and other ten were coming towards her. She kicked the one chewing at her foot with force and got out her gun from her back pocket. She then began to shoot at the closest Infected. As the nearest threats were dead for good, she got up on her feet and ran towards the cars. Because the second car was closest, she got in and as soon as her door was shut, the cars drove away from the herd.

"You two stink." Andrew said.

"Said the man who couldn't be moved from his seat." Charlie lightly punched his friend's arm.

"Oh no!" Blair shouted and Charlie turned around panicked. "Have you got bit?!" he shouted back. "What? No! I left the magazines and the food there!" Blair responded and Charlie just flipped her off and threw the basket at Blair. "You didn't" she said and got the remaining packs of chips and bars of chocolate. Luckily, her magazines where still there. "How did you do that?"

"Grabbed them on the run. Don't ask." Charlie laughed and told Andrew to signal to the others that they were stopping because they had to change their clothes.

"Did you know that Kim Kardashian was pregnant?" Blair broke the silence that dominated the car since she changed her clothes and went back to Nathan's car. After hearing how bad Cody freaked out when he thought she died after she fell down, and then heard Nathan's version of how fast Cody wanted to leave and didn't give a fuck that she could be alive, she buried herself in magazines. The drive was too boring for her liking. Even after another close call with a herd in Bensley where she just covered the boys's backs from the car, she started reading as soon as the herd was far behind. Every herd they've encountered made her realize how tough it is out there and she couldn't help but wonder how many decent people are still alive.

As they got closer to the larger cities, cars began to make the access on the freeway harder so they had to leave the road and endure the long bumpy ride and small groups of Infected that occasionally approached the cars or followed them until they were back on the freeway and they speed up.

"Well, she gave birth not long ago so yeah, I knew that." Cody rolled his eyes.

"Oh, right. The Kardashians paid their tickets to safety."

"I thought you liked Scott." Nathan said.

"I do, he's my favorite Kardashian."

"His name is Disick." Cody looked at her weirdly.

"He's a Kardashian in my mind." Blair rolled her eyes at Cody then asked "How much do we have to go?"

"Well, we're close to the other route that avoids Atlanta. We probably have two hours left."

"Awesome, we'll be there at midnight or something..."

Nathan nodded but yawned, obviously tired from driving the entire day. "Hey man, let's switch places. I'll take the wheel now." Cody looked at Nathan, who was too tired to argue and happily traded places with the man. Blair was already falling asleep and Nathan was too, as soon as Cody started the engine again. He sighed and took a look at the map. They had to turn left to avoid Atlanta, but Cody kept driving straight up.

Not long after Cody's decision, the cars entered a big city. The buildings were abandoned, some of them were crumbling, there was vegetation almost everywhere and Cody could count bodies like sheep. He turned right, familiar with the road and happy that the city was empty. He knew they will be okay because everyone here is dead. He stopped the car and leaned back in his seat, taking in long breaths. He had made it. Now he had to look for his family at the CDC. As he was slowly drifting off to sleep, dozens of bumps and kicks woke him up. He sat straight and he could feel his heart beating faster and faster, and he could swear his life was draining. He looked around and all he could see were thousands of Infected trying to get into the car.

"What the fuck?!" Nathan shouted, awake because of the loud kicks the car was getting.

"Holy shit, Cody! Where are we?!" Blair shouted too, now wide awake.

"We're in Atlanta."


	3. Chapter 3

Rage. That's what Nathan and Blair felt. Betrayal. They thought Cody could be trusted, that he was able to let go of his desire to see Atlanta. Now he led them into a death trap. Panic was written all over their faces. Blair was frantically searching for the bag full of weapons and ammo; Nathan was searching for ways out on the map and Cody was trying to drive out of the herd that circled the car. The only good thing was the Sun rising up, signaling the end of the night. It was already probably four in the morning when Cody went into the city, and maybe half past four when the herd surrounded the car. Now, one hour after the daylight was making its way over Atlanta. It was probably God's way of saying "Sorry I gave you Cody the terminator; here, have some daylight so you can see the Infected better."

"I can't drive any further!" Cody shouted after they got rid of the herd.

"Why?!" Blair shouted back, not taking her eyes off the herd that was approaching them from behind.

"The road is blocked!" Nathan responded "We have to leave the car and run!" he added.

"Are you crazy?! We can't leave the car we have supplies, weapons and clothes here!" Cody argued but both Nathan and Blair were already grabbing weapons and getting ready to make a run.

"It's your fucking fault, you drove us here! Be grateful the most important things are in Andrew's car!" Blair shouted and handed Cody a handgun. Nathan grabbed the bag full of weapons and Blair the one containing medicine. "We run forward alright? That's the way out of town. If one of us sees a car that might have fuel you make a run for it, then you pick the others." Nathan ordered.

"What if we encounter a herd?" Cody asked while loading his gun.

"We hide into the nearest building." Nathan gave Blair a short nod and opened the car's door. Before the herd caught up on the car, the small group was already running away dodging Infected. Blair slashed one monster across the face and pushed the body away; Nathan was decapitating every Infected that came way to close for his liking and Cody was shooting at a couple of Infected that were coming from a pharmacy. That drew more Geeks towards them and it wasn't good. "Can you stop shooting?!" Nathan who was closer to Cody hissed. The man threw his hands up in defense and sprinted to catch up with the woman who was trying to get away from three Infected. Cody shoots two of them and as they fell on the ground Blair decapitated the last one. "Thanks." She murmurs. Cody gave her a small smile and continued his ran; he knew very well that the CDC center was really close, so he had to get there before his two companions did.

Blair knew that Cody wanted to stay at the CDC center along with Dr. Jenner. The pain in the ass never wanted to leave Atlanta for Newberg in the first place; he had to be taken by force. The woman disliked him since then; he had the possibility to be safe, but he didn't want it. He wanted to stay in Atlanta, where the Infection has already begun. There were so many people out there who would have given anything to be in his place and he didn't realize that. He wasn't grateful. But she let him go, not exactly caring about what could happen to the man if he was alone and so far away from her and Nathan. She couldn't run after him and leave her best friend behind; she had to stay by his side, just like he stood by her side ever since they met.

"Run!" the man shouted when he finally caught up with Blair. They heard growling right behind them and Nathan was slashing one, two, three Infected that were grabbing to him and the woman was doing the same. "Is this city really that big?!" the woman cried out when another herd of Infected appeared right in front of them, blocking their escape. "Go to the left!" Nathan shouted and the woman obeyed. She didn't know if she was actually crying because at every turn that followed after that one, they encountered packs and packs of Infected that started to follow their smell.

None of the two Living could run anymore and each step sent knives through their bodies. Nathan was in front of Blair and that allowed him to make a risky decision. When he spotted a wide ally he went for it and thanked God when there were only three Infected inside it. "Nath, a door!" He heard the woman say and they both reached for it. He was surprised to find it unlocked but couldn't afford to think why the owners left it like that. He just thanked God in his mind for that lucky shoot. They escaped inside just as the large herd began to come around the ally. Nathan slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside, thanking God in every possible way because the key was there.

Blair fell on her knees as the herd shoved against the metal door. Her legs were shaking and she was struggling to slow down her breathing. "Are you okay?" Nathan kneeled next to her. "We're alive." She breathed out. "We're alive!" Blair threw her arms around Nathan's neck and held him tight.

"We've only made it into a music store that's two blocks away from the CDC." Nathan laughed but didn't let Blair go. He was glad they made it out alive and now the herd wasn't going to follow them. They could jog towards the small parking lot, find a car and drive to Woodbury. Blair was going to be okay, he was going to be okay and Cody was- that's when he realized Cody's disappearance. "Blair, where's Cody? Oh God, have we left him outside?" Nathan panicked and broke away from the woman's embrace.

"No! He ran towards the CDC before the herd began to follow you and me." Blair sighed and got up.

"Is he crazy?!"

She threw her hands up "He probably is! We'll find him there anyway."

"Don't you think that maybe the place is empty?"

"Dr. Jenner and his wife refused to leave the place, so they must still be there but I don't know, really. It's been a year since then."

The music store looked normal and for a moment, Blair hoped to see living people walking inside with smile on their faces, girls looking for the latest album of their favorite singer, boys looking at the musical instruments and some bored workers that walked around the shop. But she was brought back to reality when Nathan clapped twice. "What?" the woman turned around to face her friend. He smiled and handed her something. An album. She studied it for a minute then threw her arms around Nathan once again. "Unapologetic? How did you know?" she asked. Rihanna's latest album was something she'd always wanted.

"Lucky guess." Nathan smiled. "Let's go before the geeks find the front door." The man added. The majority of the herd was still in the alley but a small pack of Infected was standing by the front door. It wasn't something overwhelming, they could handle them. "Race to the CDC?" Nathan smirked.

"It's on. The loser will have to do everything the winner says." The woman replied and held her machete tighter. "Deal." Nathan replied and sprinted out of the shop.

"You cheated!" the woman shouted as she slashed a geek across the face and chopped another one's head off. Nathan turned left –that was the well known way to the CDC- but the woman sprinted forward, going for a shortcut and praying for a clear path. Her feet were hitting the pavement and splashes of dirty water were sent as she ran not avoiding the puddles.

"Shit." She cried as an ocean of geeks were blocking her only was to the shortcut. Her brown eyes met a pair of red ones and the geek snapped his mutilated jaw, signaling the presence of a possible feast. She turned around and broke into a sprint as the herd was closing up on her. She swung her right arm and decapitated one geek, the blade of her machete cutting trough the weak bone easily. She ducked and pierced some of the closest threats, blood and a smell of death covering her clothes.

Suddenly, her leg was grabbed by one of the geeks and she fell down, hitting the concrete. Blair shrieked as the Infected was chewing on her boot; she kicked it in the face violently and stabbed it multiple times, fighting for her life. She grabbed a handful of dirt as she struggled to get up. Her arm swung into the arm of a geek, chopping it off.

Her legs were screaming in pain but adrenaline was pumping trough her veins as she sprinted towards the street that led do the CDC. She should've followed this one since the beginning. She noticed bodies lying around covered in a dark shade of red. She beheaded another Infected that was in her way and she kept running towards her idea of safety. Her heavy steps swallowed the pavement as the CDC's parking lot came into her sight and she almost cried with joy.

In front of the parking lot, she stopped. The CDC was supposed to be there, right? She worked here for five years this is where the center stood last year.

"Blair!" she heard her name being called. At that, her head turned towards the source of the sound and saw Nathan behind a red door. There was no time to think twice because the herd was already getting close. She sprinted, once again towards the building and Nathan slammed the door after Blair ran inside.

"Holy shit." A deep voice broke the silence. Blair was against a wall, trying to catch her breath and Nathan was leaning onto a car. The woman looked up with surprise. "Cody?"

The man smirked. "Wow, you smell worse than your boyfriend."

Blair laughed and flipped him off. "How did you get here?" she asked.

"Well, when I noticed that the CDC is gone I ran into my favorite place ever; this gigantic garage." Cody threw his arms in the air.

"Fancy ass garage."

"Let's get a car and leave this fucking city!" Nathan clapped his hands once and looked around the room full of cars. "I've always wanted an Audi, man." He added.

"Well then, why not follow your dream?" Blair laughed.

"Let's find her some clean clothes first because I refuse to share a car with a smelly, temperamental bomb." Cody said and that caused Nathan to burst out laughing.

"I'm not temperamental!"

"Yeah, you kind of are." Cody gently slapped Blair's back and opened a car's trunk.

Blair and Cody began to search a couple of cars, while Nathan loaded an Audi's trunk with their bags of medical supplies and weapons –the only weapons they could get from their car-.

"Even if I stink, let's look at the bright side of this." Blair said.

"What's that?" Cody laughed while he searched through the backseat of a car. "No one died. We're taking a car then we're leaving. Alive."

Nathan smiled at that. He was glad Blair came back. When he made it here and she wasn't behind him he thought he had lost her. He thought he failed his job; the job of looking out for his best friend. The only thing he had left that he could consider family. And he knew she felt the same. She was his family and he was hers. He opened the passenger's door and turned around to call his two companions and get ready to finally leave. His heart was beating faster because of the excitement of leaving the place and he thanked God for letting them leave the city safely.

Then, a growl comes out from his left and before he could react, an overwhelming sense of agony gripped his body as he fell to the floor. His meat was torn up from his neck and the claws of the geek were digging into Nathan's arm. His scream caught the attention of Blair and Cody and the injured man heard another scream filled with terror. Blair's scream. Cody takes out his gun and shoots the geek that was chewing Nathan's shoulder. The monster goes limp and crumbles next to Nathan.

Blair ran towards her best friend who was now lying on the floor, in a pool of blood. Her vision is unclear and the tears are streaming down her face, like heavy rain. She falls down on her knees next to him and puts his head on her lap.

"Hey, don't…cry." Nathan spoke weakly. He hardly lifted his left hand and whipped the tears away from the woman's face, but it was no use.

"Hand in there Nath, okay? We'll get you to Woodbury and maybe they have more medicine and…and maybe we can save you!" she sobbed.

"We both know… that's…impossible." He let out a small chuckle. "You get into…that car and…and go to Woodbury. Do that for me."

Cody kneeled down and put his hand on Blair's shoulder. "He will turn soon, Blair."

"Shut the fuck up, Cody!" she shouted while more tears streamed down her delicate features. "He won't turn!"

"He's right and you know it. It's my…my time to go now. Give me a gun and I'll do it…myself. You two leave." Nathan's hand was held by Blair so tight it began to hurt, but he didn't mind. That was the last moment he had with her. He thought they were going to be fine. He thought they were safe but he didn't bother to check the car for geeks. That costed him his life, how could he be so reckless? He felt like somebody has set him on fire and every inch of his body hurt.

"I don't know if you've noticed but I don't have much left. I can't do this without you, you're my family!" Blair cried.

"You'll be…okay without me. You will see." He gave the woman a small smile, showing that he had accepted his death. Truly, he hasn't. It wasn't his time and he had so many things to do. "Cody…take care of her." Nathan's vision blurred and the world around him slowly turned into darkness. The last thing he saw was Blair's face. That's all he needed. His best friend watching over him. His heart was beating slower and slower. "I'll miss you." He said before falling into eternal sleep.

"I will take care of her." Cody nodded. His heart truly broke when his fellow doctor kissed Nathan's cheek and got up with tears streaming down her face. She grabbed her gun and slowly loaded it. "You want me to do it?" The man asked, his voice full of compassion.

"No." she responded sharply and then raised her gun to Nathan's head. She was about so shoot her best friend. Her hands were shaking. She took in a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The loud sound echoed for minutes in the woman's head. She got up in the black Audi and lifted her knees to her chest.

Cody dragged Nathan's body into a corner of the room and lifted the garage's large door. "Can you drive outside so I can close the door?" Cody shouted and Blair did exactly as he said. She drove out and waited for the man to close the door then she went back on the passenger's seat while Cody climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

Blair turned on the radio and quickly put on the CD she got not long ago. The silence was soon covered by Rihanna's song "Stay" and Cody didn't dare to speak. Blair was looking out the window as tears poured down her face, silently mourning the death of her only friend.


End file.
